


Amity's Flight

by TheFoolsYouSee



Series: Stress and Comfort [1]
Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Eda being a mentor, Exams, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Love Confessions, School, Stress Relief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:21:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26200018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFoolsYouSee/pseuds/TheFoolsYouSee
Summary: Amity struggles to balance her plan to confess to Luz with the pressure to excel.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Series: Stress and Comfort [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2013691
Comments: 10
Kudos: 244





	1. Chapter 1

“Tomorrow. Tomorrow’s the day.” Amity pointed a stern finger at her own reflection. “You’re going to look her in the eye and tell her how you feel. No notes, no games, just honesty.” She peeled the top sheet off a stack of notepaper on her desk, wrote two short words and held it up to the mirror. “This will be a reminder to you tomorrow morning of how you feel now. If you let fear stop you, then you’ve wasted another day, and it’s another day closer to when she leaves.”

The green-haired girl stood up, marched over to her closed bedroom door and stuck the note onto it. Then she immediately went back to sit at her desk and flipped open her study book, determined to keep her mind busy with the upcoming exam. She wouldn’t think about that note, or what it said, until she saw it again in the morning.

Except halfway through the chapter on Anatomical Viscosity, she glanced over.

There it was, exactly where she’d placed it. In between a dozen other notes from each previous day, all screaming the same two words in a now-mighty chorus:

‘DO IT!’

Amity sunk her forehead onto her open book and groaned.

* * *

The ride to school was getting to be Luz’s favourite part of the day. Sure, she’d fallen off the staff a couple of times, but Eda was getting better at catching her before she hit the lower branches of the trees, and Luz would happily take a few scratches for this view.

The mountainous white ribs of the Titan towered over them from the far edges of the isles, almost glowing as they reflected the crisp morning light. The brown rooves of the forest cottages below seemed to merge into the deep red of the grass and trees around them, each home melded into the land it was built on. It was an image straight out of the weirder fantasies Luz had dreamt up back home, where grey concrete and fumes policed any spot of nature bold enough to show its face. She knew which view she preferred.

Eda took them down lower as the high tower of Hexside Academy came into view. Students of varying shapes, sizes and species milled around outside, their matching black cowls offset by the streaks of colour on their arms and legs. Luz hopped off the staff a couple of feet from the ground and started to rush toward the main door.

“Whoa, whoa, hold up there!” Eda grabbed the back of Luz’s cowl. “Something you’re forgetting?”

Luz sighed, turned back and recited obediently. “Bye Eda, I promise to not be too much of a goody-goody nerd.”

Eda nodded sagely and looked out at the sea of not-quite witches. “I tell you, I don’t know how I survived this place with my swagger intact. I mean look at _this_ guy! What a little dweeb.”

“Morning, Eda.”

“Yeah, hi Gus.” Eda gave a dismissive wave to the short, dark-skinned boy who had joined them. Luz stuck her tongue out at her mentor and put a protective arm around her younger friend, who didn’t seem at all bothered by the grey-haired woman's comment.

Eda’s staff lifted her up a few feet higher. “Have a good day, kid. And remember, you can sneak out the window of the west bathroom!” With that, she shot away into the sky, and Luz and Gus headed toward the school entrance.

“No Willow today?” Luz asked.

“No, she’s come down with spores from those poison orchids she’s been growing. Principal Bump says if they keep her off sick for another week she’ll get extra credit.”

“Aw, I’m so proud of her, she’s worked really hard on them.” As they headed to their shared Illusions workshop, Luz reminded herself to poke around the market for a mask after school so she could check in on Willow later.

By the time they came out of the Entrancing Studio an hour later, most of the confetti and glitter Luz had brought to make up for her lack of magic was firmly rooted in her hair. She tugged a couple of scraps out as she tried to make her point to Gus.

“But if I could watch you, maybe I’d see the glyph that I could draw!”

“Luz, it’s an invisibility spell. If you could watch me, it wouldn’t be working.”

“Hmmm… that’s a conundrum. Maybe if I caught it on my camera-"

Luz stopped and glanced around in surprise - Gus was no longer there.

“…Oh he’s _good_.”

Luz knew he had to go the opposite way to her for his next class, but she did a few wide arm-flails and kicks as she made her way down the empty corridor just in case he decided to surprise her. As she fell to the floor after an ambitiously low squat-kick, she glimpsed a shock of punky-green hair around the corner.

“Amity!” Luz beamed as she picked herself up. The young goth witch in her sights was leant against the lockers that lined the wall, and started at the sound of her name. She had been more and more jumpy lately for some reason.

“Luz!” Amity squeaked, before recovering her composure and standing up straight, hugging her books to her chest. “Have you got a minute?” she asked, more calmly. 

“Sure! What’s the scoop?” Luz resisted the urge to throw a peace sign. She’d worked hard to win the aloof top student as a friend, and without much experience of friends in the human realm to work from. It sometimes felt weird being around someone as cool as her.

Amity tugged at her uniform purposelessly. “We’ve been friends for a while now and… you’re not like anyone else I’ve ever met.” Her eyes flicked between the floor, Luz’s face, and back again. “You’ve helped me a lot, and- I mean you help everyone but… basically do you… d-d’you… date me. Date me. …Date me?”

Whatever emotion it was that was flooding through Luz, she thought it was probably spelled with an exclamation point at the end. She started trying to think of something cool to say but immediately stopped herself - she knew from previous experience that kind of attempt would lead to awkwardness, embarrassment and probably fire, somehow. As the seconds passed and all she had done was spit out a couple more flakes of confetti, she scrambled for something to fill the silence and was left with her purely honest reaction.

“Oh, wow!”

“You seem surprised.”

“I am!”

“Really? I thought I’d been really awkward around you. I’ve felt this way for a while now.”

“For a WHILE?!”

“Yes, I couldn’t bring myself to tell you.”

“Well, you came and found me early today, you eager beaver! You could have waited until our Abomination class together later.”

“That’s tomorrow though, I didn’t want to let myself wait any longer.”

“No, we’ve got Abomination on Thursdays.”

“Yeah tomorrow, Thurs-“

Amity stopped in her words and frowned. Then she appeared to realise something. And then her eyes widened in horror just as the scream of the bell sounded out over the corridor and students started pouring out of the classrooms.

She turned and sprinted away down the corridor.

Luz had no idea how these situations normally went, but she felt like she should probably follow her. She had to push and shove her way through the throng of chattering teenagers, and had lost sight of Amity by the time she got to the other end of the corridor. She looked around and spotted a smaller group of students filing out of one classroom, all in the same pink uniform as Amity’s that signified the Abomination track. Inside the classroom, Luz could see Amity talking animatedly with Principal Bump; she appeared to be pleading with him. Luz edged closer as the last student exited the room.

“Honestly, I’m very surprised at you Miss Blight,” the imposing headmaster was saying.

“I know, and I’m sorry!' Amity responded, her voice high and desperate. 'Please, there has to be a way to reschedule! If I don’t complete this module, my parents-”

“And what was the reason you said for why you missed the exam?”

“I…" Amity lowered her eyes guiltily. "...I forgot.”

“You _forgot_." Bump tutted as he shook his head. "Well, that shows a very worrying attitude towards your track. The Emperor’s Coven only accepts the best and this is not the sort of behaviour they tolerate. Frankly, nor do I. The Anatomy module will be offered again next year. Perhaps you will deign to actually attend the exam then.”

Luz ducked away from the door as it swung open. Principal Bump glanced down at her through the eye-holes of the small red demon that had enveloped his scalp. The human flashed him a nervous smile, and was rewarded with a curt nod from the weathered man before he strode away. Once he was gone, Luz slowly opened the classroom door again.

Amity was sat on the floor against the wall. There were tears in her eyes, but she was just staring into space. Luz closed the door behind her, went over and sat down on the floor too.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I missed it." Amity sniffed wetly. "All year I’ve been working to get here. My parents have been pushing me so hard, and when they find out…” She put her face in her hands. “I can’t believe I got DISTRACTED!”

Luz knew she didn’t mean it like that. She was just upset. The human reached out and tried to take the other girl's hand, but Amity snatched it away and stood up, fists bunched up and breathing heavily.

“I’m sorry,” she said, without looking back at Luz. “I was wrong. I can’t deal with this right now.”

Amity walked out of the classroom, leaving Luz sat alone.


	2. Chapter 2

Amity avoided thinking about how long she’d been walking in the forest for. If she thought about how long it had been then she’d know when she’d need to stop, and if she stopped then everything would catch up with her. Her failure. Her parents. What they’d say. What they’d do. She pushed the encroaching thoughts back to the corner of her mind where they belonged and rooted around for something else, anything else. Going to her hidden room in the library was an option; she was halfway through the second Azura book again, that would give her something to focus on for a couple of hours. Except now even her one escape was tainted - Luz’s voice would come out in every word.

Luz. Her friend, whose feelings she'd toyed with by asking her out and then almost immediately pulling away the offer when things got difficult. Someone who had only ever wanted to help and support her who Amity had pushed away. AGAIN.

The witchling noticed her feet were splashing in water, and stopped; she’d almost walked directly into a pond. If she wanted to keep walking then she’d have to turn around, and every step would take her further back toward her problems.

Amity leant back against a tree, slid down to the floor, and cried.

“See, this is what I’m talking about.”

Amity leapt up again and hastily wiped her eyes, smudges of her eyeliner coming off on her hands. She looked around for the source of the voice; if it had been Edric or Emira she would have already set an Abomination on them, but it hadn’t sounded like either of her siblings. She looked up, and was surprised to see Eda the Owl Lady sitting in a branch above her, lying back lazily against the trunk.

“Too much pressure," Eda continued. "It just ends in tears.” The pale witch was slowly twirling her staff in her hand, although the owl palisman that normally sat at its top was missing. Amity felt a flutter on her shoulder as something landed on it, and when she looked down she saw a small, live owl, identical to the staff's topper. The owl lifted a wing and wiped away a remaining tear from her cheek, and she gave it a wobbly smile, stroking its head softly with her finger in thanks.

“I’m sorry,” Amity said. “I didn’t know you were here.”

Eda nodded. “That’s _why_ I come out here. Away from anyone who ever had expectations of me.” She jumped down from the tree and stretched a hand out to Amity’s shoulder. The small owl hopped onto Eda’s finger, and she brought it to the top of her staff where it melted back into position. Eda let the staff go, and it swung down until it was hovering horizontally in the air. She sat on it and beckoned to Amity. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride.”

Amity hesitated; she was not looking forward to going home. But her parents had always seen riding on a staff as gauche so she'd never been able to try it before, making this too tempting an opportunity to pass up. Amity gingerly took hold of the back end of the staff, and mounted it behind Eda.

The lift was exhilarating. She clutched the staff tight as the wind whipped through her hair, her grip the only thing stopping her from sliding off backwards. In seconds they were far above the trees and speeding along fast. Amity heard Eda call out over the wind.

“You alright back there?”

The younger witch swallowed, but was determined not to show any fear. “Yes!”

“Good, ‘cos this is way too low for me!”

Amity supressed a shriek as the staff tilted back - she knew if her palms started to sweat, that would be it. They rose higher and higher into the sky and, going against every instinct currently racing through her, Amity glanced down.

The whole skeleton of the Titan was laid out before them in a boiling purple sea. Even the flying boats were far below, ferrying people between the different settlements of the Isles. Amity could see them all at once, all the people and paradigms she had always felt pressured by. They were so far away now.

Having reached the top of her arc, Eda tilted the staff forward and they sped down again. Amity could feel her hands start to slide back, and gripped the staff tight between her knees. The landscape flew up toward them, treetops becoming immediate problems before the staff suddenly levelled out again. It was such a rush that Amity couldn’t help but laugh, and she caught Eda looking back at her, smiling.

The staff came to a stop a couple of feet above the grass below and Amity slowly untwined herself from it, gingerly placing one foot on the ground at a time. When she was convinced that she was solidly supported, she looked around and realised they were nowhere near Blight Manor. She gazed up at the large stained glass window of the Owl House before glancing nervously down at its front door. But the living bird face implanted into it seemed to be asleep, and Amity breathed a sigh of relief; her previous encounters with it had been grating and violent.

“I can’t fix your problems for you, kid.” Eda said, now holding her staff vertically again. “And I wouldn’t even if I could. But when things get too much for you out there, you can always come here.”

Amity was surprised. Every story she’d ever heard about the Owl Lady spoke of a bitter recluse, and Luz’s descriptions of her hadn’t exactly disproved them.

“Why?” Amity asked. “I mean, thank you. But why?”

“Cos I’ve seen what drive can do to a person if it’s pushed too far.” Eda lowered her gaze for a second, a sad look in her eyes. Amity suddenly recognised her old mentor Lilith in them, and remembered that the two were sisters. But then Eda looked up again with a wink. “And because I know Luz wouldn’t be as crazy about you as she is without a good reason.”

Amity blushed. And then cringed. “I think I really hurt her feelings.”

“Then make it up to her.” Eda was nodding towards something behind Amity, and she turned around.

Luz was walking up the path toward the house, and stopped in her tracks when she saw the pair. Eda gave Amity a pat on the shoulder and went inside.

The two girls stood where they were for a moment, looking across the distance between them. Then Amity started walking forward; whatever conversation was about to happen, she wanted it to be as far away from Eda’s accursed sentient doorbell as possible. She reached the spot where Luz was stood.

“...Hi.”

“Hi.”

Amity kicked the floor a little. “I let my frustration get the better of me, and I hurt you. I’m sorry. I know that’s not enough, but I hope it can be a start.”

She dared not look at Luz’s face. It would show whatever emotion she was feeling without filter, and Amity didn’t think she could handle seeing the pain she’d caused reflected back at her. She heard Luz take a breath to speak, and braced herself.

“Are you okay, though?”

Amity blinked in surprise and looked up. The only thing on Luz’s face was concern, and Amity actually had to stop herself from scoffing. This ridiculous girl - who not that long ago had been the target of her ire - had relentlessly pursued this friendship against all odds, determined to see the good in her. Luz deserved better. She deserved someone-

No. Amity stopped herself from going down that mental path. Beating herself up always led to her taking out her feelings on those around her, and she refused to let that happen anymore. Whatever it took, she would work to be the person that Luz saw in her.

Amity shrugged in response to the human's question. “I don’t know. I’ve got to figure some stuff out.”

“Well, I want to help you through it, whatever it is.“ Luz rocked back and forth on her feet, smiling shyly. “I think that’s my girlfriend duty now.”

Amity felt her face light up bright red and looked at her feet. She knew this wasn’t good manners, so she took both of Luz’s hands in hers to make up for it. She felt like she should say something, and was left with her purely honest reaction.

“Yes, I would like that please.”

The two girls hugged. Amity had never felt so tired, and yet, for the first time, at peace.

“By the way… ‘date me?’”

“Oh my God, Luz.”

“You really thought I wasn’t going to come back to that?”

Amity buried her head into Luz’s shoulder, her laughter muffled in her girlfriend’s cowl. She felt the last of the tension that had been sat in her chest disappear and felt a new relief that whatever happened next, now she knew she had somewhere to go.


End file.
